CIC Makes Start-Up Visa Program Permanent

Canadians are welcoming to people and ideas from around the globe. Welcoming entrepreneurs who have the expertise to turn their ideas into successful companies is one way that Canada’s openness can help build a world-class innovation economy. 

“Canadians benefit through the jobs that are created when entrepreneurs come from all corners of the globe to start businesses in this country,” Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada Navdeep Bains said. The Start-up Visa Program, a pathway to permanent residence for cutting-edge entrepreneurs launching a start-up company in Canada, will become a regular feature of Canada’s immigration landscape in 2018.

As part of the five-year pilot, launched in 2013, innovative entrepreneurs can apply to become permanent residents after a Canadian venture capital fund or angel investor group has made a significant financial commitment in their business idea, or after a business incubator has accepted them into their program.

A recent evaluation of the Start-up Visa Program found that it is delivering on its goals; immigrant entrepreneurs are actively developing innovative companies in Canada that are beginning to show positive results for Canada’s economy and creating middle-class jobs across a range of industries.

Making the program permanent supports the Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan, which seeks to attract investment and support the growth of a diverse range of companies, creating well-paying jobs for Canadians.

In the months ahead, IRCC will work to finalize regulations for the permanent program in order to have a seamless transition when the pilot expires on March 31, 2018.